Tech

This Touchfire Keyboard Makes an Ideal Gift for iPad Fans

Mashable's Gift of the Day series highlights cool, interesting and fun products for that special someone on your holiday list.

Typing on the iPad presented a problem from the very beginning. When Apple introduced the tablet, customers complained that, while the device revolutionized media consumption, it made production a chore. Graphics and text looked beautiful, but the touchscreen keyboard behaved temperamentally (a familiar gripe for iPhone users).

For the iPad fan tired of lugging around a Bluetooth keyboard and pretending it's more convenient than a laptop, the Touchfire screen-top keyboard makes typing tactile, familiar and easy. The transparent silicone keypad slaps right onto the iPad screen with magnets, making it easy to attach and remove. Plus, it's slim enough to wrap into smartcovers and third-party cases.

Touchfire aims to make typing fundamental to the tablet experience, in the same way cameras are integrated into smartphones, Touchfire CEO Steve Isaac tells Mashable.

"Life is unpredictable," Isaac says. "You never know when you might get an email that you need to write a cogent response to. You never know when 'Look, oh my god, I need to post this to Facebook now.' And what Touchfire lets you do is handle those situations as well as handle the day-to-day."

The flexible keyboard is light (3/8 of an ounce, according to Isaac) and slim (thinner than two credit cards). And its silicone constitution means you can bend it out of shape and it will snap right back. There are no symbols on the see-through keys, so you can switch to a numeric keyboard and back without missing a keystroke.

Most importantly, Touchfire finally allows you to slide your fingertips into home row position, just like your typing teacher stressed all those years ago.

"You can understand why having all of that beautiful screen space is so wonderful, because you can manipulate it," Isaac says. "But humans have touch and we use our fingers as not only little hammers, but also as sensing devices. And what Touchfire does is it brings back the tactile to these kinds of devices."

Can you sense a frustrated iPad user who needs the Touchfire? Check out this testimonial video to make sure it's the right buy this holiday season.

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